Merrick Trimble
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Merrick was born on a small farmhouse in Texas just before the Civil War. Her mixed heritage brought prejudice from both sides, including in her own family. Her father died when she was a baby, so she never knew him. Despite having the love of her mother and brother, Merrick had to deal with feeling like an outcast wherever she went. The only place she felt accepted was with Julie and Jason.
When Merrick was 14, Jason went off to fight in the war. The neighbors and nearby townsfolk judged Merrick and Julie because Jason had chosen to fight for the North when most of the men from their town were fighting for the South. Julie stood by Jason's choices, and refused to let anyone sway her from being proud of him. She caught a fever and died just before the war ended, leaving Merrick alone until Jason returned. Merrick went to stay with her paternal grandmother who tolerated her, but just barely. Merrick resented Jason for leaving them to the mercy of their neighbors and family, and she blamed him for their mother's death, saying she died of heartbreak from Jason being gone. In Merrick's mind, Jason didn't have to fight, and he abandoned them by going. When Jason returned, Merrick realized she hated him and couldn't bear to be around him. She ran away from home, desperate to find that sense of family she'd lost. Before she could get too far, she had a brief moment of weakness and realized she needed to go back home. She returned just as Jason was experiencing his first full moon shift as a werewolf, and realized there was something wrong with him. She had a small idea of what was happening, that he was a werewolf. She ran away for good this time, and researched as much as possible to understand what her brother had become, if she could help him become human again. She also learned about vampires, and found a small coven that offered her immortality in exchange for her loyalty. Her research, and their knowledge, told her Knight was now immortal, so she willingly became a turned vampire with the hopes she would one day find her brother again. Once she joined the reclusive coven, Merrick fell into sadness and kept to the shadows, but she found a true family with the coven, and put her search for Knight on hold until more time had passed. When the turned army started gaining power, they found Merrick's coven and slaughtered the Born vampires inside it, then expected her to be grateful. She joined their army with the intention of bringing them down, and met the turned vampire Cameron within their ranks who had the same mission. The two fell in love, without knowing they had mutual friends, or that Cameron's vampire family knew her brother. |